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Edgewood gets Canada's top QB

Edgewood, coming off of its fifth straight state football championship and a record 58 straight wins, picked up Nathan Rourke, the No. 1 QB prospect out of Canada.(Photo: MICKEY WELSH/ADVERTISER FILE)Buy Photo

Edgewood is coming off of its fifth straight state championship and a record 58 straight wins. The Wildcats lost key seniors across the offense, including quarterback, but they'll have a new face to help them in the 2015 season.

Nathan Rourke, the No. 1 QB prospect out of Canada, transferred to Edgewood last week and hopes to keep the Wildcats' dynasty going.

"Hopefully I can motivate people to do that and bring the best out of people because that's what a leader does. I'm hoping that I can do that and at the same time get better myself," Rourke said. "I have two goals, and that's to continue the streak and win a state championship. They're not personal goals, they're for the team."

Rourke threw for 33 touchdowns to just five interceptions, and ran for eight more scores for Holy Trinity in Ontario. In addition to adding another state title to Edgewood's collection, he hopes the move down south will help him catch the eyes of SEC coaches.

He also wants to start a revolution.

"There's already a revolution going on in the NBA, (with Canadian-born) Andrew Wiggins getting picked first overall (in last year's draft). We're due sometime in the NFL. Maybe that's not me, but sometime we'll do it just to prove what Canadian football players can do," Rourke said. "Because there's ballers up there, just no one knows about them yet."

Edgewood coach Bobby Carr said Rourke looks like former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel on the field with his ability to improvise and throw on the run. The transition on the field is going smoothly. But in other elements of his life, not so much.

"The imperial system is really screwed up, I think. I may be a little bit biased. I'm a little bit of a patriot myself," Rourke said. "I always say the metric system is better, but it screwed me up in math class for sure."

Three from JD pick up football offers: If you've ever been to a Jeff Davis football game, you probably saw Travez Bozeman dancing on the sidelines.

Bozeman had another reason to dance last week, after he and teammates Adarius Wesley and Alec Jackson picked up scholarship offers.

"I was very excited. As a sophomore getting offered for the first time, it felt great," Bozeman said.

Bozeman — a 5-foot-10, 170-pound sophomore – plays running back, wide receiver and returns kicks for the Vols. He got his first offer from Alabama State, and of course he danced.

"A little bit on the way home," Bozeman said.

Wesley — a 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver — added offers from Cincinnati and Alabama State to go with his Troy offer. With his teammates also getting offered, it's proof the JD program is moving in the right direction.

"We're on the come up right now," Wesley said. "We've just got to keep working hard and more will come to more teammates."

Jackson — a 6-foot-5, 240-pound sophomore defensive end — got the news last Wednesday, and said he didn't believe it at first.

"Coach said, 'South Alabama just offered you.' I didn't want to believe him at first, I thought he was playing with me," Jackson said. "It feels real great to be offered by any team. It's good to be offered by a D-I school for your first time. Hopefully I'll have more good come. So I just have to keep grinding, keep doing what I've been doing."

Prattville's Pettit signs with JSU: Prattville's cross country star Kole Pettit signed with Jacksonville State on Wednesday.

Pettit, the team's co-captain, set the school record for the 5K with a 16:52.06 at the Class 7A state meet and was named to the Advertiser All-Metro cross country team.

"I'm looking forward to the higher level of competition and to see how great of a runner I can become," Pettit said.